This paper is written based on workshop discussions and on my research paper
presented at the University of Bayreuth’s DFG funded conference, entitled: »Wie
Digitalität die Geisteswissenschaften verändert. Neue Forschungsgegenstände und
Methoden« March 23–24, 2017. The paper aims to investigate the state of the
art, issues, advantages and drawbacks of the use of digital technology for the
research of Islamic Art and Architecture. Rather than being conclusive, this
paper aspires to discuss research methodology of the History of Islamic Art and
Architecture. This is of importance given the lack of such discussions in the
given field. The paper is based on my ongoing PhD research of Aesthetics of
Ilkhanid Architectural Revetment in Central Iran c. 1300 at the
Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. It discusses the question of the use of
digital technology for the benefit of the research. Its particular focus is an
inquiry of use of digital technology for the research of stucco revetments and
monumental architectural stucco inscriptions (Figures 1 and 2, 3) from 13-14th centuries
in Central Iran. The paper argues that the use of digital technology is of key
importance for the advancement of Islamic Art studies and for researchers to
overcome the traditional approach of stylistic comparison. The paper also
explains why Digitality cannot entirely substitute key primary sources stemming
from research of museum collections and objects handling or field research of
monuments, on which studies of Islamic Material Culture are based.

1. Introduction

After briefly introducing the field of the research, the paper debates the history
of Islamic Art and Architecture studies, as a scholarly discipline, in relation to
its sister disciplines and the divide between them. Upon explaining the origins of
this methodological backlog in the given field, the paper debates advantages and
issues in the use of Photo Editing Software for the purpose of studies of Islamic
stuccos. This base allows for the discussion of the current situation regarding
the use of Digitality to research Islamic Material Culture(s), the disparities
between the disciplines and their origins. In its second part, the paper debates
particular problems concerning the research on Islamic architectural revetments.
It outlines issues, challenges and perspectives for the use of digital technology
in this subject area. Particular examples are given, focusing on the research of
Ilkhanid stucco polychromy and stucco inscriptions in Central Iran. The paper
examines the relationship between the evidence provided by the primary sources and
its use for the creation of digital reconstructions of polychromy and
illustrations of architectural inscriptions. It also debates feasibility of
employment of Photo Editing Software for the research, and the balance between the
research scopes and the necessary amount of digital material. Further examples
from the field of Islamic Art and Architecture are given to broaden the context of
the discussion. The paper also debates the relationship between the research
methodology for studies of Western Art and Architecture and Islamic Art and
Architecture. It evaluates the field specific problems linked to the nature of
field campaigns in the Near and Middle East and its implications for the use of
Photo Editing Software. The paper proceeds to outline the current state of the art
concerning the Digitality and its relationship to the discussed field, recent
developments and the challenges for the future. In a nutshell, the paper argues
that the use of digital technology is of key importance for the advancement in
Islamic Art studies and for researchers to overcome the traditional approach of
stylistic comparison. The paper also explains why Digitality cannot substitute
entirely the key primary sources such as objects handling or field research of
monuments, on which studies of Islamic Material Culture are based.

2. Background

Islamic Art and Architecture Studies and studies of Pre-Islamic Architectural
Heritage of the Oriental lands became more visible fields of Art Historical
research during the past years, especially in relation to war thorn areas
destruction of monuments. Regardless of this important issue, studies of Islamic
Art and Architecture are of great significance for the humanity, because they shed
light and provide new knowledge about our common cultural, artistic and
architectural heritage. The field of »Islamic Art and Architecture Studies«
considerably lags behind the field of »Studies of Western Art and Architecture.«
This is manifest in its underdeveloped and old-fashioned theory of research and
methodology. Instead of using modern technology and structured research
methodology the vast majority of Historians of Islamic Art and Architecture still
rely on stylistic comparison as the main method of enquiry.
Handling of objects stored in museum collections and field research of monuments
are key primary sources of the discipline. Field research often proves challenging
for Western scholars, because they cannot always have access to the sites due to
the armed conflicts in the countries of the Near and Middle East or political
turmoil. On the other hand, not all countries present such problem, but Western
scholars nonetheless often tend to dedicate a limited amount of their time to
conduct field research in remote lands: either because of the limited research
funding possibilities or due to logistic difficulties. This often leads to a
confined or incomplete amount of documentation of monuments of Islamic
Architecture, which is the key to the quality and success of the research. To
compensate this, scholars tend to excessively rely on photographic archives of
monuments. Indeed the body of photographic documentation of Islamic Architecture
stored in the West comprises of black and white archival material dating to times
between 1920s and 1980s. It is legitimate to state that the approach of Western
Historians of Islamic Art is distinguished by often excessive scholarly reliance
on photographical archives of structures and their revetments. They are either
produced by researchers who travelled through the Islamic lands to survey Islamic
monuments (for example K.A.C. Creswell, Arthur Upham Pope or Donald Wilber), or by
foreign research and conservation missions archives; for example, the archive of
Iranian mission to Iran aiming at preservation of Iranian monuments. Some
researchers use photos of their own field campaigns, but these images can often
become quickly outdated when monuments are altered during restoration or
refurbishment campaigns. Old photographs of monuments are of key importance for
the understanding of structural alteration through time, restoration interventions
and urbanistic modifications. They are however of little aid at the understanding
of current state of monuments and their modern alterations; also, they can neither
provide detailed information on dimensions of monuments and their architectural
revetments. A similar problem arises for the research of Islamic Art Objects,
which are dispersed in a countless number of collections. Consequently, a gap
between studies of Islamic Art Objects in museum collections and studies of
Architecture, despite the fact that objects of Islamic art cannot be fully
comprehended without considering their original architectural context and vice
versa. Moreover, a divide in research approach and focus between Western and home
scholars, stems from possibilities of field campaign execution and nature of
material gathered during field research. This is reflected in research findings
and trends disparities. Increased possibility of global communication and
circulation of publications[1] as generated by the development of Digitality is however
slowly filling this gap. Nonetheless, the common challenge of language barriers
and occasional political divides do slow this process down.

Western Islamic Art Historians still excessively rely on stylistic comparison of often outdated photographs of monuments and their
architectural revetment. For example, Their excessive reliance on photographical
archives, the majority of which contain black and white photos of structures and
their revetments, rules out discussion of one of the main features of Islamic
stuccos – their original pigmentation traces and their original polychromy. Lack
of detailed documentation of stucco inscriptions also results in their limited
comprehension. If a cutting edge within the discipline is to be reached, new
methodologies, including the use of digital technology, should be incorporated in
the research methodology of Islamic Art Historians. For the studies of Ilkhanid
stucco revetments as well as for the vast majority of Islamic Art, the most common
scholarly approach consists of stylistic comparison. This
is partially caused by the scholarly will to determine a scientific criterion for
differentiation and classification of Islamic Art and Architecture in periods,
dynasties and geographic regions. It is based on the comparison and study of
ornamental[2] elements, calligraphic
style and type of relief and carving.[3] It often also involves qualitative
judgement, which is determined by the viewers/researchers context of education.
This approach, when isolated and combined with art historians’ will to answer
questions regarding Islamic Art craftsmanship and patronage often leads to
erroneous hypotheses regarding the stucco revetment. One of the main factors is
often the lack or limitation of funding available for short time periods, which
forces scholars to restrict their research to the most essential aspects excluding
different or more costly approaches. Studies of Islamic Art and Architecture
require an updated and interdisciplinary research methodology, which must go hand
in hand with archaeology, archaeometry, studies of epigraphy and use of available
digital software and tools.

3. Interdisciplinary Approach versus Research Disciplines Divides

The impact of Digitality on Islamic Art and Architecture studies is closely linked
to the research methodology of the field, which stems from its history. The
subject of the discipline, Islamic Art and Architecture, encompasses a vast
geographical unit, ranging from Islamic Spain to China, and a long chronologic
timespan of seventh to twentieth centuries. In comparison to studies of Medieval
European Art and Architecture, History of Islamic Art and Architecture remains a
relatively recent discipline, which started forming in the second half of the
nineteenth century. Due to the complexity of the research subject, in terms of
language competence (necessity to know Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Turkish,
or other languages), the need for archaeological excavations, the problem of
dispersal of objects of Islamic Art in numerous collections and the large number
of monuments, the division of the field of the research into numerous sub
disciplines has begun at an early stage. Studies of Islamic Epigraphy (with the
main focus on Arabic epigraphy) were established as a separate and independent
field starting with Max van Berchem and the Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum
project in second half of the nineteenth century.[4]
The filed is closely linked to the studies of codicology.[5] The main aim of epigraphers is to
document, record and translate Islamic inscriptions on architectural structures.
Epigraphic studies remain a somehow detached research field, due to the necessity
of a high degree of specialization for researchers, which requires a firm language
command and rigorous research methodology for the study of inscriptions. Early
Islamic Art Historians indeed rarely possessed this knowledge and often relied on
work of other scholars. Knowledge of these languages has started to become the
requirement for Islamic Art Historians in recent times. New digitalization
projects of Islamic manuscripts in worldwide collections determined an increase in
codicology studies, since they eased the access to the research material. Future
possibilities of electronic reading software for Arabic, Persian and Ottoman
scripts is however necessary for the advancement of the field. Availability of
Qur’anic and religious texts on-line and search machines for these, also greatly
enhanced the research of Islamic inscriptions. All these digital tools are of aid
at studies of Islamic Architecture, which can however only be applied on primary
sources – examination of buildings and art objects however remains essential.
Although some major institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the
British Museum, the British Library, the Victoria and Albert museum and the
Islamic Art Museum in Berlin made great amounts of photographs of objects stored
in their collections available on-line,[6]
this does not exclude the essential need to handle the objects in person in order
to read the inscriptions, research their material constitution to be able to
approach them scientifically.

Studies of artistic techniques have always been a relatively isolated discipline,
similar to European Art History, where this discipline also forms a separate
field. The European disciplinary divide seems to have determined the partition
between the Studies of Artistic Techniques of Islamic Art and studies of Islamic
Art and Architecture History. Research of artistic techniques and studies of
production of Islamic Art and Architectural Revetment have always been classified
as a separate discipline, perhaps because such studies could undermine the
seemingly lower status of Islamic Art as crafts rather than fine arts, in
comparison to Western Art. This was not desired by Islamic Art Historians, who
tried to elevate Islamic art and Architecture to the same level of importance as
European Art and Architecture.[7] As for
Persia, one of the major publications on this topic by Hans Wulff,[8] collects information on various historical
arts and crafts. It is however mainly based on Wulff’s observations of
contemporary Iranian craftsmen and artists. Wulff’s work reveals a methodological
challenge, because it is difficult to understand whether the artistic techniques
evolved through the time. Finds of these field observations should be revised
based on archaeological findings and building on achaeometric research of Islamic
Art and architectural revetment. As mentioned, Islamic Art Historians disregarded
this field, and only recent research has begun detailed inquiries into production
of architectural revetment. Contributions of Restorators, Aerchaeometrists, which
shed light on the subject, eventually started to be considered by Islamic
Architectural Historians, resulting in a formation of a new sub-discipline.[9] In this way,
long standing speculations of early Islamic Art Historians are starting to receive
revision. Future research should strongly depend on archaeomtric research of the
material in order to avoid speculation.

Archeometry is an independent discipline with a long tradition. It is
unfortunately perceived by the Art Historians as belonging to Archeological
science, rather than one of essential aspects of Art Historian’s research
methodology. Art Historians therefore rarely make use of archeometric research and
data, by instead relying on primary historical written sources. This attitude
often gives origin to erroneous assumptions. Many Art Historic theories and
speculations about Islamic Art and Architecture are incorrect because of the
absence or non-consideration of Archaeomteric data on the subject. Existing
archeometric research of Islamic stuccos is of key importance at understanding the
context of Islamic artistic media and for the comprehension of its compositional
characteristics and aesthetic qualities. Archeometric research can help us
understand: material composition of Islamic art objects and architectural
revetments. It also identifies pigments, binders and other substances used to
produce art in determined geographical and chronological contexts and,
consequently, it helps us understand better artistic techniques. Archaeometric
information about pigments combined with our knowledge about their prices from
primary written sources can give us an approximate idea about the provenance,
preciousness or price of a certain object or architectural revetment. Knowledge
about pigments composition also allows us to understand how polychrome aesthetics
of Islamic Art and Architecture evolved and the nature of common artistic
principles for stucco colouring used by the artists. This determines our
understanding of craftsmanship of Islamic art, artistic principles and artists’
notion used to produce the material culture of their time. As for the Ilkhanid
period stucco decoration in Iran, the following disparity of scholarly hypotheses
building on different sources, illustrates how important the proposed methodology
is at increasing our knowledge about the researched subject. Available written
sources suggest that, azurite, lapis lazuli, hematite, red lead, vermillion,
malachite and gypsum were used for stucco colouring.[10] Existing archaometric data
however indicates that azurite rather than lapis lazuli was used for blue
colour.[11] Considering the difference in sources of these two
pigments and the disparity between their presumed prices on Ilkhanid markets, this
information suggests that cheaper and locally available material was used by the
artists, rather than expensive mineral imported from remote areas of the Ilkhanid
empire. The same archaometric research however confirms the statement of written
sources that vermilion, red lead and ferrous oxides were commonly employed for red
pigments, and that malachite was perhaps the most common green pigment, while
carbon was used for black. Further archaeometric research is also necessary to
better understand stucco artistic techniques and gilding techniques employed in
the Ilkhanid Iran. Existing archaeometric data and primary sources allow for the
comprehension of a larger context of significance of research of Ilkhanid stucco
pigments. The earlier discussed archeomtric information about pigmentation
composition, can however also serve the art historian to attempt to understand the
original appearance of Islamic material culture and its aesthetics. This can also
be achieved with the aid of hypothetical polychromy reconstructions produced by
graphic experts or art historians themselves. Recent years have seen a technical
development in computer software and digital photography, and a proliferation of
use of graphic software for studies of Islamic Geometric Design, Epigraphy and
Ornamental motives.[12]
The fields of geometric and graphic design illustrate the possibility of use of
these software and tools for the studies of Islamic Art in an exemplary way. This
development opens a range of new perspectives in our field. A role model example
is provided by the recent study of 15th century architectural revetment by Sandra
Aube.[13] This approach however remains
rarely employed in the field of Islamic Art History. This is either due to the
research projects time limitations or lack of funding for the necessary niche
training, software and equipment purchase and skills rarely mastered by Islamic
Art Historians.

4. Digitality and Islamic Stuccos

The above discussion of field divisions connected to studies of Islamic Art and
Architecture studies and its methodological rigidity, serves for a more detailed
discussion of the relationship between Digitality and
Islamic Material Culture Studies in this section. It is dedicated to a more
detailed discussion of possibilities and challenges connected to the use of
digital photography and software for the research of Islamic Art and Architecture.
It focuses on the issues concerning studies of Ilkhanid[14]
stucco revetments in Central Iran found in architectural structures erected during
the golden period of the Ilkhanid Empire, in a short time span (1295–1315), marked
by rules of Ghazan Khan and Oljeitu. This discussion is however also of relevance
to the other fields, geographic and chronologic frames of the discipline. During
the Ilkhanid period, the welfare of the Empire allowed for the architectural
proliferation to reach its zenith.[15] This vertex of architectural productivity is best exemplified by
three World Heritage Sites of UNESCO from the Ilkhanid period: the Mongol palace
of Takht-e Suleyman (c. 1270), the Oljeitu’s mausoleum at Sultaniyya (1305–1313)
and the Oljeitu’s mihrab (1310) at the Friday mosque of Esfahan.[16] The study in
question focuses on less studied contemporary structures in Central Iran, in the
surroundings of the city of Esfahan. These structures are of minor dimensions,
compared to the imperial architecture. They lack sufficient study and they are
mainly in a poor state of preservation. They however contain an enormous amount of
architectural revetment. Ilkhanid architectural revetment most commonly exists in
thee artistic media: tiles, stucco and wall paintings. The majority of tile
revetments from these monuments was however removed from its original
architectural context and exported from Iran to become parts of museum collections
worldwide.[17] The
remaining stuccos and wall paintings are rich in information, which can also
provide answers about various aspects of Ilkhanid architectural revetment, based
on existing research. The main goal of this research is to answer the research
question summarized as: What are the Form, Function and Meaning
of Ilkhanid Architectural Decoration? The formal/aesthetical aspects of architectural revetment concern its
original appearance, ornamental and epigraphic vocabulary and artistic principles
they were produced with. Function raises the question of
function of architectural revetment within architectural context, in relation to
the architectural elements and viewer’s experience of space. Meaning explores the message that architectural revetments convey with
their aesthetic appearance, the symbols they contain and, above all, the content
of inscriptions they bare. For the sake of brevity, the below discussion focuses
on two main aspects of this research, both strongly connected to the need for use
of digital technology: studies of stucco polychromy and studies of stucco
inscriptions. In this way it should be possible to illustrate why and how the use
digital tools is necessary in order to contribute towards a better understanding
of the research subject.

5. Stucco Polychromy Research

The limited possibilities of accessing architectural sites and conducting
archeometric examinations of stucco revetments, render it challenging to propose
new scientific information about Islamic stuccos. This determines the nature of
scientific research as more demanding in contrast to the available infrastructure
and scientific information for the studies of Western Art and Architecture. It
would be however erroneous to directly apply the well-developed research
methodology of scholars in Europe[18] for the study of Islamic stuccos and the production of their
hypothetical polychromy reconstructions. While fourth generation polycromy
reconstructions[19] can be
used to gain a better understanding of the aesthetics of Ancient Roman and Greek
polychromy, such reconstructions cannot be produced for the Islamic stucco
revetment, due to the lacking infrastructure and consequent absence of reliable
scientific information about the material. Although the digital research
methodology developed in Europe, above all in Germany, should be taken as a role
model, it requires adjustments to the given context. Its haphazard application
presents numerous risks which can affect the scientific validity of the conducted
research. Firstly, there is a danger of over interpretation caused by the lack of
scientific data on the material characteristics of Islamic stucco revetment
(chemical composition of stucco, pigments, adhesives and gilding technique).
Secondly, one must rely on the quality of photographical material available and
know its technical properties. Thirdly, unless the material was examined with
archaeometric analyses, there exists no guarantee stating that the remaining
evidence was not altered through the centuries: a high level of caution is thus
necessary. Fourthly, the researcher has to be acquainted with the characteristics
of the remaining evidence and understand how the digital camera translates this
evidence into digital information, which is used also to produce polychromy
reconstructions suggesting the original appearance of stucco revetment. These
reconstructions are of key importance in the study of Islamic Art and Architecture
because they allow researchers to discuss stuccos’ artistic characteristics,
painting and gilding principles and decorative hierarchy – aspects which would
otherwise remain obscure. Research projects such as those in Rome (Ara Pacis),
Cividale (Tempietto Longobardo) and in Germany (exhibition: Gods in Color; Bunte
Götter – Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur) demonstrate the significance of this
material for curatorial and didactic activities.[20]

Based on the aforementioned limitations, I propose here some points that are
relevant to the possibility of alternative solutions for the studies of Islamic
stuccos. Building on the documentation of monuments, archives and written sources,
Islamic Art Historians can discuss the craftsmanship, inscriptions, ornamental
vocabulary and polychromy of stucco craftsmanship and its aesthetics. The use of
existing archaeomtric information about the material subject to research, which
Art Historians can potentially extrapolate with computer software into a new form
of information, allows for a better understanding of the artistic decorative
principles, decorative hierarchy and patronage of stucco revetments. Only all
these approaches and sources combined, enable the Art Historian to scientifically
discuss the aesthetics of architectural stucco revetment. My investigation of
relation between technology of documenting the architectural revetment, existing
publications and their quality suggests, that the nature of the development of
digital photography technology had an important impact on Western scholars’
knowledge and understanding of Islamic stucco revetments. In short, because
polychromy of stuccos could be rarely recorded, it attracted little attention in
the West. Furthermore, due to the limited possibilities of archeometric
examinations of stucco, the information about the composition of stucco polychromy
was not available until the recent decades. The comparison of available
photographic documentation of the well-known Oljeitu mihrab (1310) illustrates
this point. Photos published by Arthur Upham Pope and Max van Berchem in the first
decades of the 20 century are entirely black and white.[21] The first colour photos with visible
rests of mihrab’s extensive polychromy traces were released in the West with
Bernard O’Kane in 1990s.[22] However, almost contemporary photos published by Sheila Blair and Robert
Hillenbrand hardly give justice to the mihrab’s polychromy perhaps due to the
limitation of the publications format.[23] The Oljeitu mihrab, however retains
extensive amounts of stucco polychromy (Fig. 4). These examples illustrate the
difference in quality of stucco revetment recording in relation to development of
photographic technology. Western scholars and viewers of photos of Iranian
stuccos, who have not travelled to Iran thus saw them as ›white‹ although they
were not white. Scholars who travelled to Iran could not record the stucco
polychromy well and it must have thus been difficult for them to discuss the
matter in details in their research. Furthermore, the trending research
methodology in those times seems to have determined the research focus on
fundamental questions such as: identification of inscriptions, their
understanding, questions of craftsmen and commissioners and above all ornamental
vocabulary of Ilkhanids, rather than technical aspects of stucco and stucco
polychromy composition. Another issue relating to the communication of existence
of stucco polychromy stems from the high prices of photographic technology and
publishing of colour and high resolution photos. This is still a persistent
problem in the discipline as these examples show. Furthermore, the photo editing
software necessary for the elaboration of photographic material and production of
stucco polychromy reconstructions just became available at the end of the 1980s.
Stucco Polychromy, as a research subject, thus seems to have been overlooked due
to the limited means of it being recorded in remote architectural sites in Iran,
in addition to the lack of digital photography technology and knowledge of photo
editing software.

Western studies of architectural polychromy began towards the end of the 19
century, when Art Historians became interested in the remains of polychromy on
Classical Greek Statutes and Architecture with polychromy traces. Nowadays
researchers produce the so called fourth generation polychromy
reconstructions.[24]
These polychromy reconstructions are based on an extensive amount of archeometric
information extracted from the objects and then reproduced with original
materials. The new UV-VIS technology seems to even allow scholars to determine the
original shades and saturation of the polychromy. While these reconstructions have
not passed as uncontroversial, they nonetheless suggest that there is a
possibility of archeometry and art history to collide and propose new knowledge
about very well-known artistic and architectural heritage. The main drawback of
such projects is their cost and necessary time. It does not seem that such
investigation techniques will soon be applied on Islamic stucco revetment studies.
It is nonetheless possible to attempt to produce feasible polychromy
reconstructions of hypothetically original appearance of Islamic stuccos with the
existing means. Digital photographs of architectural revetment can be employed to
observe the remaining polychromy traces. Photo editing software can aid at better
spotting some small fragments of polychromy with the use of filters and
magnification. Based on the gathered information tentative digital polychromy
reconstructions can be produced with Photo Editing Software. These reconstructions
are however purely tentative and they present several problems. How do we know
what was the original saturation of the colours, without a detailed archeometric
analysis? Did the colours decompose and oxidise through time and they thus changed
their aesthetic characteristics? These issues can only be resolved with the aid of
archeomtric technology and microscopic research. Having said this, although these
reconstructions are highly speculative, they can nonetheless be of use to Islamic
Art Historians. Details of the polychromy reconstructions illustrate clearly how
the artist used the colours, and based on this reconstruction Art Historian can
discuss artist’s colouring principles and aesthetics of Islamic stucco revetment.
Furthermore, such polyhcromy reconstructions could be of use for spreading the
information about the original appearance of the stucco revetment to the wider
audience; for example, museum visitors, students of Art History and the scientific
community. They thus assume an important didactic function. In the Cividale
museum, in North Italy, the 8 century Ratchis altar is displayed and the
polychromy reconstruction is projected on to it in order to show to the visitors
how the altar looked like originally and how the artists coloured it (Figs. 5–6).[25] A similar projection
of polychromy reconstruction has also been executed and put on display for the Ara
Pacis Augustae in Rome.[26] While the
Cividale reconstruction has been produced based on archeometric analyses of
pigmentation traces, the one in Rome was executed in a more speculative manner,
drawing on primary written sources about Roman polychromy practices. These two
examples illustrate the larger context of importance of studies of architectural
revetment polychromy, the information they provide and possible didactic functions
of tentative polychromy reconstructions.

6. Arabic Epigraphy

Studies of Arabic or Persian architectural inscriptions have been one of the major
scholarly challenges through the history of the discipline. One needs to possess a
solid language command and knowledge of calligraphic scripts for their thorough
research. Arabic Epigraphy established itself as an independent field during the
past decades, but it nonetheless almost entirely excludes the use of digital
tools. This section attempts to suggest possible benefits of use of photo editing
software for the study of Arabic and Persian Epigraphy as part of Islamic Art
Historians’ approach. It also discusses the feasibility of this study approach,
its benefits and the extent to which it should be applied and considered as
authoritative evidence. The use of software does not only allow one to reproduce a
certain inscription, it also enables its further elaboration, incomparable to
manual copying of inscriptions – the common practice of Art Historians. Its
employment allows researchers to discuss architectural revetment from new
perspectives. Digital reproductions of inscriptions and architectural
ornamentation enable a detailed discussion of their design and their artistic
composition. They facilitate comparative research of a large quantity of material,
because they can be reproduced and modified in numerous ways. Studies of
inscriptions’ letter shapes and their comparative research enable discernment of
craftsman workshops’ characteristic and their activities. The following example of
Ikhanid stucco inscription executed in carved stucco from the Pir-i Bakran
mausoleum near Isfahan illustrates a possible way of use of photo editing software
and tools for the research of Architectural Inscriptions (Figs. 7–8). Digital
software has been used in order to produce a precise copy of this inscription, and
its two respective scripts. The function of this digital image is the following it
allows us to reproduce the script and isolate the inscription from its ornamental
background; in this way one can better appreciate its design and discuss its
aesthetic characteristics. It is possible to understand how the inscription was
designed; whether it was a professional scribe, calligrapher or some other person
who designed it. Moreover, the digital image can be reproduced in various sizes,
colours and dimensions for didactic purposes and for publication. Ultimately, it
is much easier to discuss the inscription and its aesthetic characteristics are
clarified through its digital manipulation. This can be brought another step
further: one can digitally dismantle the inscription and study the shapes of
letters and their variations in order to understand epigraphic characteristics of
the inscription. Similar attempts to enhance studies of architectural inscriptions
have already taken place. Digital software can be used to enhance visibility of
architectural inscription in its architectural context.[27] This is especially useful for didactic
purposes. As for reproduction of Square Kufic inscriptions, a separate digital
software can be used. Reproductions of these inscriptions are of great use for
studies of their design and the way the designers organized the text spatially.
Digital reproductions are again clearer, because the script is isolated from its
context, allow for their reproduction, and can also be used for didactic purposes.
Last but not least, digital reproductions of inscriptions on wall paintings are
useful for the research and studies of architectural revetment and decoration
design.

7. Conclusion

This paper attempted to discuss the relationship between Digitality and Studies of Islamic Art and Architecture and especially
Islamic stucco revetment. Some examples were given in order to illustrate the
many-fold aspects of potential of the use of Digitality for
the studies and research of Islamic Art and Architecture. Impact of Digitality on the field, which developed through time and
went hand in hand with the development of the respective field, was highlighted.
While some of the above outlined assumptions might sound obvious to a specialized
reader versed in Digitality, they however result in
importance for the Islamic Art Historians, given the aforementioned backlog in the
digitalization of the discipline and the lack of its discussion. It is nonetheless
important to stress here, that only some aspects of the discipline and its
methodology are or will eventually be impacted and changed by Digitality. Islamic Art objects and monuments should remain the key
primary sources for the research in the field. Digitality
should however be one of the aspects of the interdisciplinary approach to the
subject, which still results excessively jeopardized by the traditional
methodology of stylistic comparison. The use of digital
technology for the research of Islamic Art and Architecture is a must and one of
the keys to the cutting edge discoveries in the future of the discipline.